“So why do I keep hearing recommendations from people to take them to a chiropractor? Is it safe? Does it do anything? Why would a baby need to see a chiropractor?”
These are all incredibly common questions that I get when I tell people that I am a chiropractor that specializes in pregnancy and pediatrics.
It’s true. Many babies don’t have back pain. Even if they did, they wouldn’t be able to tell us where it hurts. However, babies DO have nervous systems, which is what chiropractic is all about!
While things like fussiness, disturbed sleep patterns, difficulties with breastfeeding, restricted head or neck motion, or constipation are common in infants, they are definitely not normal and could be signs of spinal stress. In chiropractic, we refer to this spinal stress as vertebral subluxation.
The birth process has the potential to be very traumatic. Typically when I say this, people assume I am talking about mom. Yes, birth is stressful on mom’s body and she is forced to undergo many changes in a short amount of time. However, imagine what is happening to the baby. Even the slightest imperfections in this process can put tremendous amounts of pressure on the baby’s very fragile spinal column. If a cesarean section is necessary, it takes between 60-90 pounds of force to remove baby from the womb. 80% of infants have vertebral subluxations at birth, most commonly in the area of the upper neck.
Babies don’t have a lot of jobs to do in life right when they’re born. They need to eat, sleep, eliminate waste, and double their size by their first birthday. Their innate instinct is to do these things with ease. If there is a problem with one or more of these jobs, it is likely because the baby’s brain is not able to get all of the messages to the rest of the body properly. This puts the baby’s nervous system in a state of stress.
Chiropractors that are trained in pediatrics are able to alleviate this stress on the nervous system by ensuring that all of the pathways for the brain’s messages are clear. Babies do not have the same bones that surround their spine that adults do. Many of their vertebrae are still cartilage. While this cartilage, if not in the right place, is enough to cause nervous system interference, it does not take a lot of force to put things back into place. It’s about the amount of force used to check the ripeness of a tomato. The chiropractor provides a very specific adjustment at the right place and time to remove the vertebral subluxations and restore baby’s neurological pathways.
“How do I know if my baby has spinal stress?”
Many mother’s find our office when their baby is experiencing difficulties; trouble with sleeping, constant crying, inability or difficulty to breastfeed, reflux, or constipation. These are good indicators that your baby is under spinal stress and should be checked by a pediatric chiropractor.
However, they are not the only indicators. Some babies have minor subluxations that go unnoticed until toddler, childhood, or adolescent years. While still correctable at these times, it takes a lot longer and is much more difficult.
Chiropractors are trained to be able to detect subluxations BEFORE a problem ever arises- and the sooner the better! Many families choose to add a chiropractor to their health and wellness team for prevention and the promotion of overall health.
Written by: Dr. Brittany Guelzow
